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Are you considering upgrading your backyard with outdoor lighting? A well-lit backyard enhances the aesthetic looks of your house. You’ll have a safe home with illuminated walkways, a patio, and a garden. Backyard lighting remodels could also increase your property’s value if you’re planning to resell. What lighting options do you have? There are five types of prevalent lighting fixtures used for backyard outdoor lighting. They include decorative lights, hanging lights, up lights, in-ground lights, rope lights, and path lights. It will help if you blend all these outdoor lighting fixtures for a unique and functional backyard.
A bright backyard will bring the party to any corner of your home. Whether it’s a new installation or a simple remodel, we have some backyard lighting ideas and tips that will meet your taste, needs, and aesthetic preferences.
Ideas that will add illumination to your backyard include:
1. String Lights on Wall and Fence
Do you have an outdoor wall or fence that has some hanging plants or artifacts? You might want to display the beauty of your artistic designs day and night. Hanging string lights on the wall and fence will illuminate every aesthetic aspect. Outdoor string lighting can also be for highlighting the potted shrubs around the wall and fence. If you opt for brighter string lights, you can create a perfect sitting area next to the wall. The closer you sit to the border shrubs, the more you’ll appreciate nature processes. You’ll love the fresh air and relaxed ambiance created by your hard work.
2. Directional Up Lights and Down Lights
Directional up light has nothing to do with height. You’ll install most of the exterior lighting fixtures on the ground level to highlight the focal points in your backyard. Directional up lights and downlights feature both wide and narrow beams, depending on your aesthetic preference. If you’re illuminating a small shrub or flower bed, a wider beam will work better. Narrow beams are ideal for tall trees or any hanging decoration. Among the many types of directional lights that will highlight your backyard’s beauty are the pergola canopy lights.
You can also use these lights to enhance security around the garage or mark the entry points into the backyard garden. It will also help if you opt for solar options to save on energy costs. If you go for lighting fixtures powered by house electricity, you might want globes with automatic turn-on and off features.
3. Steps and Railings Lighting
If you have a staircase leading to a valley part of your backyard, you’d want to install outdoor steps and railing lighting for safety, to avoid tipping over. You can use fixed lights on the rail, but an in-ground will look better on the steps. The bulbs should not be too bright but illuminate enough light to highlight different level changes. You’ll need professional installation for durable steps and railings lighting that will last for ages.
4. Umbrella Outdoor Lighting
Canopy-like lightings are increasingly becoming popular in urban settings. You can use various canopy-like structures to illuminate flower beds or highlight architectural waterfalls. They can also be ideal for your sitting area. The simplest way of achieving adequate umbrella outdoor lighting is by using solar-powered lanterns. If it’s around the sitting area, you can install a canvas material on top of the canopy-like structures to create shade during summers.
5. Outdoor Chandelier Lights
Chandelier lights are timeless and will look beautiful in your backyard throughout all seasons. The best thing is that they assume a hanging position and will still light brightly in winters when it’s snowing. You can customize chandelier lights or buy ready-made options, depending on your budget and aesthetic preferences. Install dim chandelier lights around the sitting areas to give you a dreamy experience when relaxing. However, an outdoor chandelier light fixture may need to be more sturdy than indoor options to brace wind and other weather conditions like rain. In that case, you’ll need a waterproof choice.
6. Outdoor Walkway Lighting
Walkway lights make the frequently used path and driveways in the backyard safe and accessible at night. Don’t confuse outdoor walkway lights with floor lights. You’ll only feel safer if the lighting fixtures can illuminate a few meters into the lawn, away from the walkway. Typical outdoor pathway lights will come installed in 15 to 20-inch poles. You’ll need to install them about 10-inches from each other for beautiful patterns.
7. Floodlights
Floodlights are ideal for shining bright light to frequently visited areas. This can include dining, sitting, and playing corners for enhanced activity during the night. Even though these lights are more noticeable than others, they give a total sense of security as they illuminate past the intended areas. Even so, you can still opt for minimalist designs that don’t light too bright to interfere with other lighting fixtures. Floodlights are the best safety lights for entrances and driveways. In that case, you’d opt for floodlights with sensors that automatically light up after detecting motion.
8. Pendant Lights
Pendant lights will illuminate any spot you want to highlight without creating unnecessary shadows. They give a magical experience since they hang from the top. You can hang pendant lights on tall trees to highlight well-manicured backyard lawns. Pendant lights may seem regular but will add a touch of style if strategically hanged. They are easy to install, and you can achieve beautiful accent lighting patterns without breaking the bank. However, most pendant lights have dim illumination and shouldn’t be your only source of light for security. They’ll blend well with floodlights that power on when triggered by motion sensing.
9. Pool Lights
If you have an outdoor pool in your backyard, unique pool lighting will be a game-changer in highlighting the pool design’s architectural aesthetics. You’d also wish to swim during night times, especially if you have a heated pool. The choice of pool lighting will depend on the pool design, your budget, and aesthetic preferences. Innovative pool lighting options include colored LED light fixtures that make the pool water assume a glowing colorful look. Pool lights will minimize accidental falls, especially with many guests around the yard at night. The same can also be used for water features on your property.
10. DIY Paper Lanterns
Do you expect a sizeable number of guests? It could be a birthday party or a weekend barbeque with close friends. DIY paper lanterns make a budget-friendly temporary lighting solution to illuminate your whole backyard. Everyone will have sufficient light to bring out their grills. The unique repetition of lighting sports will create a striking beauty while enhancing everyone’s safety. You can buy punched paper bags to save yourself the hassle of punching holes when designing the lanterns.
You can add weight to the paper bags with gravel for stability to prevent wind from interfering with the lights. The lighting source is purely aesthetic but LED tea lights will look more charming and impressive. They’ll also add a playful touch to dark corners if you’ll have kids around attending the party. Even so, be careful to ensure none of the paper bags catches fire.
11. Hurricane Candles
Have you ever contemplated creating an outdoor kitchen to prepare meals next to your Alfresco dining area? Sometimes you need to break the monotony of indoor cooking to enjoy the luxurious outdoor living space you worked hard to create. If that’s the plan, you can try hurricane candles to illuminate the area. If you’re up for an outdoor bar countertop, you can install catered hurricane candles to create a soft lighting ambiance ideal for getting merry.
12. Moon Lamps
Moonlights are ideal for creating memorable outdoor experiences. The lights imitate the moon’s natural light to give for soft outputs to give your backyard a glowing look whether the real moon is up in the sky or not. Moon lamps provide you a romantic, bright ambiance that ordinary bright lights cannot create. It will help if you install them in a tree with the most extensive canopy.
13. Solar Outdoor Floor Lamp
Solar outdoor floor lamps are a go-to option if you want an outdoor lighting solution with fewer maintenance costs. Once you install them, you’ll not incur any energy costs as they come with inbuilt batteries that recharge during the day. This lighting gives you an intimate outdoor ambiance for evening dinners or just catching up with your better half. You can also go for colored bulbs to emit low patterned glows that improve your property’s aesthetic beauty. This lighting will illuminate potted plants and shrubs to highlight their beauty in the night.
An alternative option for solar lights are the amphora floor lamp. However, these fixtures will look better on paved floors. They are large, and you’ll only need a few to illuminate a more extensive area or add functionality to the entire yard. Amphora floor lamps will also prove helpful in outdoor rooftop and balcony gardens with limited architectural elements. Remember, lighting up a rooftop garden is as important as a ground backyard for aesthetic and safety purposes.
14. Hanging Fairly Magical Lights on the Shade
Summers will never be more enjoyable unless you install a permanent shade on your backdoor landscape. The shade will also enhance the functionality of your outdoor living space during drizzles. Even when it’s not raining at night, you’ll still need the shade, especially if you installed permanent seats. You can interweave the lights inside a parasol to create a magical ambiance in your favorite social spot. These landscape lights will also eliminate the dangers concealed by dark because they enhance the backyard’s general security.
15. Bollards for Making a Bold Statement
Bollards exude a luxurious ambiance both in the day and night times. Sunlight rays form beautiful shadows and light on the geometry of the bollard. As dusk onsets, the artificial lighting fixtures assume the same displays on the bollard’s geometry, but now with better effects.
The most prevalent stylish bollard is the Flindt Garden brand. It features an asymmetric cut-out part where the light rays rest. When it gets dark, the soft light rays reflect an attractive organic shape on the ground beneath. Bollards will look more beautiful on the edges of your backyard and around the sitting areas.
16. Wall Mount Lights
Permanent lighting fixtures enhance the security of your home. Intruders will hardly creep in without triggering the security protocol of you mount permanent lights on the walls. It can be concrete or green walls. Moreover, stylish wall mount wall lights will add a decorative touch to your landscape. These lights work in tandem with floodlights to enhance the functionality of your backyard all year round.
17. Shiny Spotlights
Shiny spotlights make one of the easiest DIY lighting ideas unless you want to install them in an extended area. In that case, you’ll need to hire professionals. Imagine how beautiful dotted patterns of spotlights will look deep in the night. You can install them in strategic places such as next to an exotic shrub or a precious stone to highlight your yard’s detailed aesthetics. Whether large or small gardens, shiny spotlights will still create a beautiful ambiance.
18. LED and Solar Globe String Lights
LED and solar globe string lights are increasingly becoming popular in modern home backyards. Most homeowners refer to these hanging lights as market, café, or bistro lights. These lights will illuminate your outdoor for evening parties or family bonding times during weekends. Besides being budget-friendly, they are easy to install because you can attach them to shrubs, standing posts, or even around the walls. You can also do a permanent installation if you opt for waterproof globes. If you have a wet bar extending towards the backyards, these lights will help create a favorite chilling spot for the guests. Just ensure that the lights are not too bright if you’re up for cozy outdoor dinners.
19. In-Ground Outdoor Lighting
In-ground solar outdoor lighting is a go-to option for homeowners who want to illuminate their trees, exotic shrubs, or flower beds. You can also use this lighting to demarcate borders and pathways, especially if you have a bigger backyard space. They’ll form beautiful lighting patterns that will make you feel proud in front of guests when they visit at night. Other landscape spots that will look beautiful with in-ground lights include building walls and green fences. These lights are budget-friendly as they require minimum maintaining needs. You’re good to go once you cover the top with a watertight glass. You can also install them in simple DIY processes.
20. Lanterns Outdoor Lighting
Lastly, you can choose lanterns outdoor lighting if you want durable hanging lights for your backyard. High-quality lantern lighting fixtures have sturdy construction material for bracing outdoor conditions for years. Some will come with up to a five-year warranty. They offer limitless customization options to match unique outdoor décor. Handcrafted designs will reflect your taste for a luxurious lifestyle. They can also look beautiful around dining tables, especially for a large family.
Wrapping It Up
These outdoor lighting ideas for your home will spike a touch of grandeur to your beautiful backyard. You don’t have to copy everything as they are. You can blend different ideas that match your imagination. Remember, an outdoor living space looks more beautiful when it complements your personality.
If you are interested in hiring professional landscape designers and installer, be sure to talk to our experts here at Washington Outdoor lighting. We can help you take care of the hard work and time of installing outdoor lighting fixtures on your property or home.
Give us a call at: (425) 765-4107
